golden ticket
A qualification, person or thing that can provide positive opportunities.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“This job offer is a golden ticket for my career.”
“Winning this talent show is your golden ticket to a professional music contract.”
“A recommendation from the CEO is a golden ticket during the hiring process.”
“Getting accepted into that prestigious university felt like a golden ticket to a successful future.”
“Learning to code fluently is a golden ticket for anyone who wants to work remotely while traveling the world.”
“The young athlete knows that an Olympic medal is a golden ticket to expensive sponsorship deals with major brands.”
“The exclusive patent served as a golden ticket, granting the startup unprecedented access to global markets and long-term financial security.”
first recorded 20th c.
From golden and ticket, popularized by the winning vouchers in the 1964 book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The construction pairs golden, as a reference to a valuable or desirable object, with ticket, as the necessary instrument for obtaining it.
- 01
buy a ticket to
Used to indicate that someone is in agreement with an assertion, statement, or suggestion.
- 02
E ticket
Something very thrilling or exciting.
- 03
golden age
A period of happiness, peace, prosperity, and great progress.
- 04
golden goose
Something that generates much profit or gives great advantages.
- 05
golden handcuffs
Any arrangement or agreement designed to provide extremely favorable benefits or pay, so as to discourage a participant from choosing to leave it, especially to retain a choice employee in a role that is unpleasant to them.
- 06
golden handshake
A generous severance payment, especially as an inducement to leave employment.
- 07
golden hello
A payment offered to an employee as an inducement to join, especially if currently working for a competitor.
- 08
golden mean
A position of balance between excess and deficiency.
Last updated August 10, 2026